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How do you grade the New Orleans Saints performance in the 2020 NFL Draft? The Saints seem to always enter the draft prepared to wheel and deal their draft picks so that they can maneuver the board, targeting players they feel have a better chance of success than other prospects. That of course means trading away picks not just in this year’s event, but the upcoming NFL draft.
We can count ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. among the crowd that had a mixed reaction to the Saints’ draft haul, though he’s more critical of their strategy. Kiper graded the Saints with a C+, one of eight teams to receive that rating, tut-tutting New Orleans for how few picks they made and their continued free-spending nature with future draft capital:
I’m high on center Cesar Ruiz (24), whom I ranked as the clear top interior offensive lineman in this class, and he has some experience at guard. He could end up there with last year’s second-round pick, Erik McCoy, playing so well at center as a rookie. One thing that bothers shorter quarterbacks like Drew Brees is interior pressure, and New Orleans is trying to shore that up as it goes all-in for 2020. I have other needs higher for the Saints — particularly wide receiver — but I do like Ruiz.
The Saints used trades for their other three picks, including adding next year’s third-rounder, to move up to get outside linebacker Zack Baun (74) and tight end Adam Trautman (105). Baun is an interesting fit in Dennis Allen’s defense; is he a defensive end or a versatile linebacker? I thought he’d be great as an OLB in a 3-4. Either way, it’s good value for Baun, who is my No. 31 overall player. The 6-foot-5 Trautman, my second-ranked tight end, caught 70 passes last season and is really just a jumbo wide receiver at this point, but that could be useful in Sean Payton’s offense.
The flip side to Kiper’s argument is that the Saints lack many places where rookies will hope to compete right away. While New Orleans went into the draft wanting to improve the interior of its offensive line and lacking a healthy, young starting-quality linebacker, there weren’t many other opportunities for a first-year player to get on the field.
Sure, adding a wide receiver or cornerback would have been nice. But how many targets would a third wideout get (assuming they could outplay Tre’Quan Smith in training camp, which isn’t a sure thing) behind Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, with Alvin Kamara and Jared Cook also in play?
The Saints already know which two corners are going to dominate the snaps played — in Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins — so picking one early would have meant investing in an insurance policy rather than an upgrade. With Drew Brees entering the final days of his playing career, the Saints are gambling that short-term improvement is the better play. We’ll just have to watch and see if their bet pays off.
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